DID YOU READ

Insert Credit: “Shadows of the Damned”

Insert Credit endeavors to suss out where you should be allotting your video game allowance, sifting out a single title from many and crowning it as The One Game You Need to Get This Week. Don’t consider these reviews, gentle reader. Rather, think of Insert Credit as a mix of hands-on time, informed opinion and intuition.

For the week of June 24, 2011, you should insert credit into: ” Shadows of the Damned.”

No game designer working today channels the inner landscape of a 12-year-old better than Goichi Suda, better known as Suda51. The Japanese creator first came to Westerners attention with “Killer 7,” a Capcom game initially made for the Nintendo GameCube. All of the playable characters in the cartoony, gore-soaked action thriller could’ve sprung from a sixth-grader’s subconscious — a black guy with a Mohawk, a caped luchadore and a comely young girl who reveals secrets with blood that showers from cutting her own wrists. There was also a mechanic where blood was the economy of the game with thin blood restoring health and thick blood used for upgrades. While some of it sounds like it could’ve been cooked up in after-school detention, “Killer 7” bore a psychological twist that showed a deeper understanding of narrative expectations than the rest of the game would have you believe.

Then came “No More Heroes,” whose central character Travis Touchdown embodies the slacker-geek lifestyle probably shared by those the game was aimed at. He buys a bootleg lightsaber called a beam katana off the internet and proceeds to make a run at becoming the number one assassin in the world. But, he’s living in a motel room filled with action figures and other nerd tchotckes and must take on odd jobs like mowing the lawn to keep cash in his pocket. You saved games in “NMH” by sitting on the toilet. And, oh yeah, his big super moves in the game are pro wrestling power slams.

For his newest game, Suda’s inner prepubescent boy fixates on recreating a grindhouse cinema feel inside a video game. “Shadows of the Damned” brings unto us Garcia Hotspur, a trash-talking demon hunter who ventures into hell to get his kidnapped girlfriend back. “Shadows” blasts a guitar-heavy punk/metal soundtrack out of the game and Garcia himself gets covered in copious tattoos in the manner of a Lil Wayne or Wiz Khalifa. Garcia’s aided by a hellborn sidekick names Johnson, who also shapeshifts into his main weapon. Johnson also changes into a torch, a motorcycle and other implements that you need. Early on, Garcia comments that Johnson is always the right tool for the job. The dick jokes keep coming (er, sorry) and it feels like Suda may have a penis-obsessed compulsion like Jonah Hill’s character in “Superbad.” Yes, the one who kept on drawing phalluses everywhere. Even the big bad, a Lord of Hell named
Fleming, make a tiny penis joke as he’s spiriting away girlfriend Paula. And, yes, Fleming also looks like something drawn in the margins of a math notebook, with a long, sleeveless trenchcoat festooned with bones of various sizes.

The game’s primarily an action shooter This is the first game that Suda’s made with a significant partner, that being Shinji Mikami, the creator of the “Resident Evil” series. It’s a testament to Suda’s process that “”SotD” bears much of each man’s sensibilities. The camera angle, resource management, enemies and level design all come from Mikami, while the snot-nosed punk ethos of the characters scream Suda. The frothy fusion results in a bizarre logic that’s oddly Even when the game over-indulges in well-worn game mechanics it does so with gusto. So, even though there’s tons of key pzzles where you need to figure out time and again how to open a door, the bizarre logic of it keeps you engaged. At one point, you need to feed a strawberry to a scowling baby’s head that keeps an entrance locked. You get health back by drinking booze. You need to shoot goat heads to light your way.

Yet, for all the over-the-top humor and its juvenile sense of what’s cool, “Shadows” isn’t shallow. None of Suda’s games are. The insistent childishness in Suda’s games seems to come from a repurposed nostalgia, where he’s trying to recreate the feelings games gave his younger self. Film and pop culture both bear a strong influence on his work, too. Travis Touchdown–the lead in “No More Heroes”–served as a callout to the “Jackass” guys. Similarly in “Shadows,” the inspirations of Guillermo Del Toro, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino mix with a heap of “Evil Dead”-era Sam Raimi, too. It’s a road movie set in hell. That nostalgia for the games of old gets nakedly wound around his other obsessions with pro wrestling braggadocio, the recursiveness of nerd minutiae and gothic imagery. (He claims to have been an undertaker before entering game design.) What gamers wind up with is a litany of dick jokes with a heart beating beneath it. A paradox, maybe, but also one that’s decidedly Suda.

Early in his career, Suda would only allow himself to be photographed with a lucha libre wrestling mask on. I remember hearing that he’d also do interviews with it on, too. Looking back on it, I think the mask wasn’t to hide anything but to reveal his inner self. His games do that, as well. What seems like sinking to an elementary school level actually serves to elevate the otaku meme to become its own subject matter. His oeuvre says, “Hey, you know that weird stuff we all like? The wrestling trash-talk, skull rings, cheesy b-movies? Not only can we make games about that stuff, we can make games about liking that stuff.” So, in that way, “Shadows of the Damned” continues the skein of gleefully adolescent yet intriguingly faceted video game experiences coming from Goichi Suda. I, for one, hope he never grows up.

Are you enjoying “Shadow of the Damned”? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter.

The Best Of The Last

The end is near. In mere days Portlandia wraps up its final season, and oh what a season it’s been. Lucky for you, you can watch the entire season right now right here and on the IFC app, including this free episode courtesy of Subaru.

But now, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the new classics Fred and Carrie have so thoughtfully bestowed upon us. (We’ll be looking back through tear-blurred eyes, but you do you.)

Couples Dinner

It’s not that being single sucks, it’s that you suck if you’re single.

Cancel it!

A sketch for anyone who has cancelled more appointments than they’ve kept. Which is everyone.

Forgotten America

This one’s a “Serial” killer…everything both right and wrong about true crime podcasts.

Wedding Planners

The only bad wedding is a boring wedding.

Disaster Hut

It’s only the end of the world if your doomsday kit doesn’t include rosé.

Your Portlandia Personality Test

Carrie and Fred understand that although we have so much in common, we’re each so beautifully unique and different. To help us navigate those differences, Portlandia has found an easy and honest way to embrace our special selves in the form of a progressive new traffic system: a specific lane for every kind of driver. It’s all in honor of the show’s 8th and final season, and it’s all presented by Subaru.

Ready to find out who you really are? Match your personality to a lane and hop on the expressway to self-understanding.

Lane 10: Trucks Piled With Junk

Your junk is falling out of your trunk. Shake a tail light, people — this lane is for you.

Lane 33: Twins

You’re like a Gemini, but waaaay more pedestrian. Maybe you and a friend just wear the same outfits a lot. Who cares, it’s just twinning enough to make you feel special.

Lane 27: Broken Windows

Bad luck follows you around and everyone knows it. Your proverbial seat is always damp from proverbial rain. Is this the universe telling you to swallow your pride? Yes.

Lane 69: Filthy Cars

You’re all about convenience. Getting your car washed while you drive is a no-brainer.

Lane 43: Newly Divorced Singles

It’s been a while since you’ve driven alone, and you don’t know the rules of the road anymore. What’s too fast? What’s too slow? Are you sending the right signals? Don’t worry, the breakdown lane is nearby if you need it.

Still can’t find a lane to match your personality? Check out all the videos here. And see the final season of Portlandia this spring on IFC.

Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

It’s the final countdown to Christmas and thanks to IFC’s movie marathon all Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, you can revel in classic ’80s films AND find inspiration for your last-minute gifts. Here are our recommendations, if you need a head start:

Musical Instrument

Great analog entertainment substitute when you refuse to give your kid the Nintendo Switch they’ve been drooling over.

Breakfast In Bed

Any significant other or child would appreciate these Uncle Buck-approved flapjacks. Just make sure you’re not stuck on clean up duty.

Cocktail Supplies

You’ll need them to get through the holidays.

Dance Lessons

So you can learn to shake-shake-shake (unless you know ghosts willing to lend a hand).

Comfy Clothes

With all the holiday meals, there may be some…embigenning.

Get even more great inspiration all Christmas Eve and Day on IFC, and remember…